Heat by Heat Results - August 1970

The Dukes overcame a stern test against a spirited Hackney side lacking their injured star rider Jansson.  Eric Boocock was made to work hard for his maximum, twice having to come from behind against 17 year-old reserve Thomas, and with Gary Middleton in eye-catching form, Halifax failed to take control of the meeting as most expected. The points were assured when Boocock secured his maximum in heat 12, although there were concerns again about the form of McKee who was off the pace all night.  Middleton then defeated Boocock to take the Golden Helmet.

Halifax's round of the Northern Riders Championship was dominated by Newcastle's Anders Michanek.  The Swede cruised to a 15 point maximum - in 15 races at The Shay in 1970, he had now only been beaten once (by Nigel Boocock in the test match).  Sheffield's Haley edged Eric Boocock into third place with 4 solid wins.  Alan Jay, Dave Younghusband and Terry Lee were all in the points, although McKee and Kentwell were off the pace.

Halifax stunned the Diamonds at Brough Park to snatch the win in a last heat decider.  Newcastle must have thought they had rescued the win, having trailed for most of the meeting, through the efforts of Michanek (unbeaten) and George Hunter.  But Boocock teamed up with guest Howard Cole in the decider to shut Hunter out and steal the win.  Michanek was to have the last laugh, as he defeated Eric Boocock to defend his recently-acquired Golden Helmet.

The Dukes moved up to 5th in the league with a hard-fought win over a Ray Wilson and John Boulger- inspired Lions.  Not even Eric Boocock could outsmart Wilson who stormed to a full-house, with Boulger only dropping a single point - to Boocock in heat 12, which sealed the win for Halifax.  Had the Lions top two received any kind of support, the result would have no doubt been different, as Dukes guest Levai made little contribution.  Greg Kentwell weighed in with a solid 8 points and looked more like his best.

With an open date on the calendar due to the cup exit, Halifax staged a challenge match against a "London" select side, headed by lone English World Finalist Trevor Hedge.  The Dukes chose to not have a guest, instead giving a debut to junior/second-halfer John Lynch, whilst Malcolm Mackay joined the visitors after a couple of riders withdrew earlier in the week.  The result was a comfortable win for the Dukes, with Boocock and Younghusband getting maximums, whilst Colin McKee won all 3 of his races.

The Dukes went down by 4 points in a thriller at Swindon, but once again will wonder whay might have been, letting a 10 point early lead slip.  Eric Boocock got the better of Barry Briggs in heat 1, but otherwise the former World Champion, and Bob Kilby were unbeaten, as only Boocock, McKee and guest Rick Timmo were consistently in the points for Halifax.  A heat 12 5-1 for Swindon over the disappointing Younghusband and McKee (replacing the out-of-sorts Jay) sealed the win for the Robins.

Halifax saw out the month of August with a Bank Holiday Monday defeat of Cradley, courtesy of an Eric Boocock maximum, a welcome return to form from Alan Jay, and a superb paid-eleven points from reserve McKee.  With limited guest availability, the Dukes opted to give Dave Durham his debut, and the junior scored 3 valuable points, but also looped at the start in heat 12 and crashed heavily.  Cradley used another Dukes junior, Ian Bottomley after Ken Wakefield failed to arrive.  Greg Kentwell took a heavy fall in heat 5, and withdrew from the rest of the meeting.